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KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING  HOME  OF  RANDOLPH  PUBLIC  LIBRARY. 


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The  Kimball  Library  Building  and  the 
Randolph  Public  Library. 


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THE  need  of  a  modern  library  edifice, 
in  which  to  shelter  and  nourish  that 
flourishing  young  institution,  the  Randolph 
Public  Library,  could  not  fail  to  impress 
the  generous  public  spirit  of  so  loyal  a  son 
as  Colonel  Kimball.  The  library  had  out¬ 
grown  its  quarters  and  they  served  merely 
as  a  depot  for  the  semi-weekly  exchange 
of  books.  To  give  his  native  town  some¬ 
thing  worthy  of  its  pressing  need,  and  to 
testify  once  more  to  his  affection  for  it 
were  probably  the  motives  which  prompted 
the  following  communication,  dated  Oct. 
i,  1901:— 

To  the  Town  of  Randolph: — 

If  you  will  furnish  a  site  and  architec¬ 
tural  plans  satisfactory  to  me  without  using 
therefor  any  of  the  library  funds  now  on 
hand,  I  will  give  ten  thousand  dollars 
($10,000)  to  be  received,  controlled  and 
managed  by  the  Board  of  Library  Trustees, 
as  directed  in  Chap.  48,  Sec.  889,  Vermont 
statutes,  and  to  be  laid  out  and  expended 
by  said  Board  in  erecting  to  completion, 
but  not  in  furnishing  to  any  extent,  a 
library  building  on  such  a  site  according 
to  such  plans,  for  the  sole  use  and  benefit 
of  the  town  library  and  the  promotion  of 
education  generally. 

The  following  named  persons,  Hon. 
John  W.  Rowell,  Hon.  Wm.  H.  DuBois, 
Dr.  H.  H.  McIntyre  and  John  F.  Mead, 
have  kindly  consented  to  act  as  a  commit¬ 
tee  for  me,  and  are  authorized  to  represent 
me  in  this  matter  in  my  absence. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Robert  J.  Kimball. 


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& 


This  generous  offer,  quite  free  from  the 
conditions  that  often  hamper  such  propo¬ 
sitions,  was  at  once  taken  up  by  the  wide¬ 


awake  citizens  of  Randolph.  There  was 
never  a  doubt  but  that  it  would  be  ac¬ 
cepted,  the  only  question  was  as  to  site. 
It  was  agreed  that  such  an  edifice  should 
be  located  in  Randolph  village  and  that 
therefore — and  because  the  people  of  that 
village  would  enjoy  more  of  its  benefits 
than  those  of  the  town  outside — it  would  be 
a  fitting  thing  for  the  village  to  furnish  the 
site.  After  due  investigation  by  a  com¬ 
mittee,  at  a  special  meeting  of  Randolph 
village  held  Nov.  18,  1901,  it  was  voted  to 
purchase  and  tender  to  the  town,  as  a  site 
for  the  library,  the  Azro  L.  Adams  lot  on 
the  east  side  of  Main  street  opposite  the 
Graded  school  grounds.  The  price  agreed 
on  with  the  owner  was  $3,200,  which  in¬ 
cluded  the  buildings  on  the  lot,  consisting 
of  a  two-tenement  house  and  barn.  This 
site  was  eminently  satisfactory  to  Col. 
Kimball,  having  to  him  the  advantage, 
from  a  sentimental  view-point,  of  having 
been  for  a  time  his  boyhood  home.  The 
lot  has  a  frontage  on  Main  street  of  164 
feet.  At  about  80  feet  back  from  the 
street  on  the  north  line  of  the  lot,  a  steep 
descent  begins,  the  crest  of  which  gradu¬ 
ally  converges  toward  the  street  as  the 
south  line  of  the  lot  is  approached.  The 
lot  is  thus  divided  into  three  parts — a  tri¬ 
angular  plateau  on  the  level  of  the  street, 
with  its  base  on  the  north  line;  a  steep 
embankment  at  the  rear,  facing  the  east 
and  southeast;  and  a  level  area  extending 
some  distance  to  the  east  at  the  foot  of  the 
embankment.  The  purchase  covered  the 
entire  lot. 

The  site  having  been  acquired,  it  was 
now  for  the  town  to  say  whether  it  would 
accept  Col.  Kimball’s  gift  and  the  village’s 
tender.  This  was  done  by  unanimous  vote 
at  a  special  town  meeting  held  Nov.  30, 
1901,  and  the  library  trustees  were  in- 


Withdrawn  ttom  Ciexar  UblMT 


4 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


structed  to  expend  the  sum  offered  by  Col. 
Kimball  in  the  construction  of  a  library 
building,  and  suitably  to  inscribe  the  build¬ 
ing  with  the  name  “Kimball  Public  Libra¬ 
ry.”  Judge  John  W.  Rowell,  the  agent  ap¬ 
pointed  to  convey  the  site  from  the  village 
to  the  town,  did  so,  reserving  to  the  village 
the  lower  plain  in  rear,  except  a  driveway 
through  to  the  street  easterly.  The  vil¬ 
lage  sold  for  its  own  benefit  the  buildings 
on  the  lot,  the  same  to  be  removed  at  once, 
realizing  about  $200  therefor,  so  that  the 
net  cost  of  the  site  to  Randolph  village 
was  about  $3,000. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1902  the  build¬ 
ings  were  removed  and  the  lot  cleared  in 
readiness  for  library  construction.  Col. 
Kimball  had  modified  his  original  offer  so 
as  to  furnish  the  architect’s  plans  himself, 
thus  relieving  the  town  of  an  expense  of 
over  $600.  After  consulting  with  various 
architects  and  contractors,  and  after  visit¬ 
ing  several  like  buildings  elsewhere  and 
studying  plans  with  great  thoroughness, 
Col.  Kimball  and  the  members  of  his  build 
ing  committee  named  in  his  letter,  decided 
in  favor  of  plans  submitted  by  H.  M. 
Francis  &  Sons,  architects,  of  Fitchburg, 
Mass.,  who  have  had  extensive  experience 
in  this  line  of  work.  The  contract  for 
construction  was  given  to  Wiley  &  Foss, 
of  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  and  by  them  certain 
parts  of  the  work  were  sub-let  to  various 
contractors,  but  Mr.  Francis  retained  gen¬ 
eral  direction.  Close  supervision  was  also 
given  .in  behalf  of  Col.  Kimball  by  Hon. 
Win.  H.  DuBois  of  the  building  commit¬ 
tee,  who  has  devoted  a  great  deal  of  time, 
thought  and  labor  to  the  enterprise. 

No  time  was  lost  in  pushing  the  work, 
but  excellence,  rather  than  quick  com¬ 
pletion,  was  the  end  sought.  How  well 
this  has  been  attained  let  those  answer 
who  visit  this  edifice — a  model  of  its  kind, 
an  adornment  to  any  town.  The  exterior 
was  practically  finished  last  fall,  but  the 
inside  work  was  but  just  completed  in  time 
for  the  dedication  Tuesday.  The  book 
stacks,  book  cases,  shelving,  furnishings, 
tables  and  chairs,  costing  $2,000  —  all 


provided  by  the  same  generous  hand — are 
not  yet  in  place,  it  being  thought  best  to 
defer  this  until  after  the  dedication.  The 
books  will  be  moved  in  as  soon  as  can  be 
and  the  Randolph  Public  Librarjqof  5,000 
volumes,  in  its  beautiful  home,  will  be 
ready  to  receive  callers. 

It  is  known  that  the  cost  of  the  building 
was  a  great  deal  more  than  the  $10,000 
originally  stipulated,  but  Col.  Kimball  has 
authorized  it  and  borne  it  all  himself  and 
the  building  complete  comes  as  a  gift 
unencumbered  to  the  town. 


DESCRIPTION  OF 
KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING, 
RANDOLPH,  VERMONT. 


THE  Kimball  Library  Building  is  in  the 
classical  style  of  architecture,  built 
of  red  pressed  brick  and  Longmeadow 
brownstone  trimmings  above  the  basement 
story,  which  is  faced  with  Isle  La  Motte 
black  marble,  quarry  split  ashlar.  The 
ground  in  the  rear  falls  away  so  abruptlv 
that  a  well  lighted  basement  and  perfect 
drainage  are  secured.  The  building  is  a 
story-and  a-half  high  and  stands  north  and 
south,  with  the  longest  side  facing  the 
street.  The  first  story  is  at  a  level  of  six 
feet  above  the  street,  and  is  reached  at  the 
center  by  a  broad  flight  of  Isle  La  Motte 
marble  steps,  flanked  by  heavy  marble 
buttresses  which  carry  the  Ionic  candela¬ 
bra. 

The  outside  dimensions  of  the  building 
are  60  feet  long  by  35  feet  deep;  first  story 
12  feet  6  inches  high  and  basement  9  feet. 
The  walls  extend  sufficiently  high  above 
the  ceiling  of  first  story  to  allow  the  finish¬ 
ing  of  three  good  rooms  in  the  upper  half¬ 
story.  The  roof  is  covered  with  North- 
field  black  slate  and  trimmed  with  copper 
hip,  ridge  crestings  and  finials.  The  cen¬ 
ter  is  surmounted  with  a  large  copper 
dome,  crowned  at  top  with  ornamental 
cresting,  within  the  circle  of  which  on  top 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


is  rough  plate  glass  about  8  feet  in  diame¬ 
ter  which  serves  to  light  the  ceiling  of  the 
rotunda.  From  the  center  of  the  dome 
rises  a  flag  staff  25  feet  high. 

The  brownstone  trimmings,  consisting 
of  quoin  blocks,  window  sills,  belts,  col¬ 
umns,  etc.,  are  all  dressed  with  a  cran- 
dalled  or  tooled  surface,  and  many  of  the 
mouldings  are  skillfully  carved.  On  the 
brownstone  frieze,  directly  over  the  en¬ 
trance  arch,  is  the  inscription,  KIMBALL 
PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  and  on  the  frieze  of 
attic  window  group  the  date  of  erection. 
1902,  both  in  solid  cast  bronze. 

Ascending  a  flight  of  eight  stone  steps 
at  the  center,  we  pass  under  a  massive 
brownstone  arch,  10  feet  wide,  to  the  porch 
5  feet  deep  by  11  feet  wide  and  enter  the 
vestibule  6  feet  by  8  feet,  finished  with 
marble  tile  floor,  verde  antique  marble 
wainscotting  and  glazed  red  walls  Pass¬ 
ing  through  double  doors,  we  reach  the 
rotunda  or  delivery  hall  at  the  center  of 


building  which  is  divided  into  two  sections, 
the  center  one  being  16  feet  high  and  hav¬ 
ing  a  domed  ceiling  with  stained  glass 
center,  and  the  fireplace  section,  which 
reaches  to  the  rear  wall,  at  the  center  of 
which  is  a  large  brick  fire-place  and  man¬ 
tel  flanked  on  either  side  by  windows 
The  work  about  the  fireplace  is  entirely  of 
red  pressed  brick. 

At  the  right  of  delivery  hall  is  the  read¬ 
ing  room,  18  feet,  6  inches  by  22  feet,  6 
inches,  in  the  rear  of  which  is  the  reference 
room,  8  feet,  6  inches  by  18  feet,  6  inches. 
At  the  left  of  delivery  hall  is  the  stack  and 
book  room  18  feet,  6  inches  by  22  feet,  6 
inches,  with  a  reception  room  8  feet,  6 
inches  by  18  feet,  6  inches.  These  are  all 
reached  from  the  delivery  hall  through 
wide  openings,  flanked  by  fluted  columns 
with  bronzed  Ionic  capitals.  At  each  side 
of  ihe  door  from  delivery  hall  to  vestibule 
are  doors,  one  leading  to  the  second  story, 
the  other  to  the  ladies’  room. 


Kimball  Library 

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6 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


The  delivery  hall  is  finished  with  Ver¬ 
mont  marble  wainscotting,  which,  at  the 
openings  to  stack  and  reading  rooms,  is 
carried  around  into  these  rooms  so  as  to 
form  pedestals  carrying  at  each  side  of  the 
opening  a  fluted,  figured  birch  column, 
with  bronzed,  erectheum  capitals.  The 
floor  is  terrazzo,  with  a  figured  mosaic 
border.  The  toilet  room  has  a  plain  ter¬ 
razzo  floor  and  Vermont  marble  wainscot- 
ting  and  is  fitted  up  complete  with  open 
plumbing. 

All  the  other  rooms  of  first  story  are 
finished  with  curly  and  figured  red  birch, 
the  walls  having  panelled  wainscotting, 
and  the  windows  and  doors  fluted  pilasters. 
The  marble  tiling  of  the  vestibule  and  the 
terrazzo  of  the  delivery  hall  are  laid  on  brick 
and  cement  vaulted  arches,  supported  on 
steel  beams,  making  this  portion  of  the 
building  fire-proof.  All  other  floors  are 
laid  with  red  birch.  All  the  inside  birch 
finish  is  very  smoothly  dressed,  varnished 
and  rubbed  to  a  dead  gloss. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  the  interior  are 
the  wall  and  ceiling  decorations.  Passing 
up  the  broad  stone  steps,  one  enters  first 
the  porch,  the  walls  of  which  are  of  brick, 
with  brownstone  trimmings.  The  arched 
ceiling  is  treated  in  metallic  effect  on 
cement.  Through  beautiful  oak  doors  is 
reached  the  vestibule,  with  its  floor  of  Ver¬ 
mont  marble,  wainscotting  of  verde  an¬ 
tique,  with  black  base  and  die.  The  walls 
above  this  are  of  a  rich  deep  red  color, 
with  Grecian  border  in  black  on  warm  olive 
ground.  This  is  separated  from  the  red 
by  a  broad  gilt  band.  Below  the  cornice 
of  red  birch  are  also  bands  of  olive  and 
gilt.  The  ceiling  above  is  of  old  ivory 
tint. 

From  this  vestibule  is  reached  the  de¬ 
livery  room,  whose  domed  ceiling  is  richly 
decorated  in  Empire  style,  with  festoons 
and  wreaths,  between  which  are  pendant 
tablets  bearing  on  gilt  ground  in  dark 
letters  the  names  of  “Longfellow,”  “Emer¬ 
son,”  “Hawthorne,”  “Bancroft,”  “Web¬ 
ster”  and  “Phillips  Brooks.”  The  color 
scheme  of  this  dome  is  olive  green,  soft 


reds  and  blues  on  light  gold  ground,  which, 
with  the  cornice  below  in  buff  tints  and 
gilt,  produces  a  rich  and  harmonious  effect, 
heightened  by  the  beautiful  fluted  columns 
and  pilasters  of  birch  with  metallized  capi¬ 
tals  which  support  the  upper  portion.  The 
wainscotting  is  of  white  marble,  with  grey 
base  and  die. 

Directly  in  rear  of  this,  separated  only 
by  the  columns  and  pilasters,  is  seen  the 
beautiful  large  brick  fireplace  the  main 
feature  of  this  room,  the  walls  of  which, 
as  well  as  of  the  delivery  room,  are  of 
Pompeiian  red,  with  golden  olive  border 
of  conventional  leaf  pattern  and  gilt  line 
above  wainscotting  and  bands  of  same  col¬ 
oring  below,  tinted  and  gilt  upper  portion 
of  cornice.  The  ceiling  is  in  harmony 
with  the  coloring  of  the  dome  of  the  deliv¬ 
ery  room. 

The  effect  on  entering  these  rooms  from 
the  vestibule  is  grand.  The  large  rooms 
on  each  side  are  the  reading  room  and 
stack  room.  These,  as  well  as  the  refer¬ 
ence  room,  which  leads  from  the  reading 
room,  are  treated  in  green,  with  conven¬ 
tional  borders  in  gold  effect  on  the  ground 
and  gilt  line  above  the  beautifully  finished 
curly  birch  wainscotting  and  bands  below ; 
cornice  of  same  material  as  wainscotting. 
Above  cornice,  the  arched  ceilings  are 
treated  in  old  ivory  color.  The  blending 
of  the  green  walls  with  the  red  ones  sep¬ 
arated  only  by  the  beautiful  columns  and 
pilasters  is  remarkably  satisfactory.  There 
is  one  more,  the  conversation  room,  that 
should  not  be  forgotten.  This  room  leads 
from  the  stack  room,  and  looking  from  the 
green  walls  of  that  the  eye  falls  upon  a 
deep  golden  color  on  the  walls  of  the  first 
mentioned,  which  are  enriched  by  soft 
green  border  and  gilt  band,  as  in  the  other 
rooms  above  the  red  birch  wainscotting 
and  below  the  cornice.  Above  this  the 
arched  ceiling  is  of  old  ivory. 

The  windows  have  polished  plate  glass 
and  leaded  stained  glass  transoms.  All 
hardware  is  of  the  best  quality,  old  brass 
finished,  cast  bronze.  All  the  partition 
walls  of  basement  are  brick,  dividing  the 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


7 


cellar  so  as  to  give  a  furnace  room  at  the 
north  end,  a  well  lighted  room  18  by  32 
feet  at  the  south  end,  a  men’s  toilet  room 
at  the  front  and  a  work,  room  for  receiv¬ 
ing  and  sorting  shipments  of  books  at  the 
rear,  warmed  from  heater.  The  entire 
cellar  bottom  is  cemented,  and  the  rooms 
are  well  lighted.  Entrance  to  the  base¬ 
ment  is  by  stairs  from  the  vestibule  of  first 
story,  and  by  doors  at  rear  and  south  end. 
The  building  is  heated  by  a  Richmond  hot 
air  furnace,  using  either  coal  or  wood. 

A  small  hand  elevator  connects  the  stack 
and  book  room  with  the  working  book 
room  in  basement,  for  the  transportation 
of  books  up  and  down.  The  building  is 
well  lighted  by  electricity. 

The  furniture  that  is  to  find  a  place  in 
the  Library  will  include  the  following: 

In  the  stack  room,  three  sections  library 
bureau  clutch  double  stack,  9  feet  long; 
60  feet  library  bureau  clutch  wall  stack; 
one  table,  3  feet  by  5  feet;  six  imported 
bentwood  chairs,  large  seats,  rubber  tips. 

In  the  delivery  hall,  one  round  table,  6 
feet,  6  inches  in  diameter;  four  Windsor 
arm  chairs;  one  settle;  one  delivery  counter; 
one  Victoria  chair  with  swivel  and  spring; 
one  card  catalogue  case;  one  accession 
case. 

In  the  reading  room,  two  tables,  3  feet, 
4  inches  by  8  feet,  fluted  legs;  16  imported 
bentwood  chairs,  arms,  large  seats,  rubber 
tips;  one  periodical  rack  and  file;  one 
combination  case,  patent  anti-friction  roll¬ 
ers;  one  newspaper  rack. 

In  the  reference  room,  one  table  3  feet, 
4  inches  by  8  feet,  fluted  legs;  six  imported 
bentwood  chairs,  arms,  large  seats,  rubber 
tips;  40  feet  book  shelving,  5  feet  6  inches 
to  5  feet  10  inches  in  height  and  adjusted 
to  height  of  windows. 

In  the  reception  room  1 8  feet  book  shelv¬ 
ing;  one  desk;  one  chair  to  match;  one 
table,  3  feet  by  5  feet;  four  chairs,  all  wood 
to  match  chair  at  writing  desk. 

There  will  also  be  a  wardrobe. 

The  architects  were  H.  M.  Francis  & 
Sons,  Fitchburg,  Mass. ;  the  general  con¬ 
tractors  were  Wiley  &  Foss,  Fitchburg, 


Mass.  ;  sub-contractors  as  follows:  founda¬ 
tion,  N.  W.  Fisk,  Isle  La  Motte;  brown- 
stone,  Durantaye  &  Rankin,  East  Long- 
meadow,  Mass.;  slating,  Wm.  E.  Edwards 
Slate  Co.,  Fitchburg,  Mass.  ;  copper  work, 
Jasper  H.  Lamson,  Randolph  ;  inside 
marble  and  terrazzo  work,  Vermont  Marble 
Co.,  Proctor;  birch  finish,  The  E.  F. 
Emerson  Co.,  Randolph;  stained  glass, 
Hutchings,  Murphy  &  Co  ,  Boston;  fresco¬ 
ing,  Strauss  Bros.,  Boston;  varnishing, 
Henry  P.  Tracey,  Fitchburg,  Mass. ;  carv¬ 
ing  and  bronze  letters,  J.  C.  Miln  &  Co., 
Allston,  Mass.  ;  heating  and  plumbing,  Jas¬ 
per  H.  Lamson,  Randolph;  candelabra, 
lamp  standards,  J.  L.  Mott  Co  ,  New  York; 
electric  light  fittings,  C.  H.  Me  Kenny  & 
Co.,  Boston. 

HISTORY  OF 
THE  RANDOLPH  PUBLIC 
LIBRARY. 

THE  Randolph  Public  Library,  for 
which  the  Kimball  Library  Building 
is  to  serve  as  a  home,  is  the  fruit  of  that 
wise  provision  of  the  Vermont  statutes  by 
which  the  state  grants  aid  in  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  public  libraries.  Though  the  aid 
thus  tendered  was  but  slight,  it  served  to 
set  the  ball  in  motion  and  it  soon  gained 
an  impetus,  accelerated  by  the  assistance 
and  encouragement  bestowed  by  local  or¬ 
ganizations  and  individuals,  that  has  made 
it  quite  worthy  of  the  beneficence  of  the 
present  donor. 

The  first  step  toward  the  institution  of  a 
public  library  in  Randolph  was  taken  at 
the  annual  March  meeting  in  1896,  when, 
at  the  request  of  several  prominent  citi¬ 
zens,  articles  had  been  included  in  the 
warning*  to  see  (1)  if  the  town  would  elect 
a  board  of  library  trustees  and  instruct 
such  board  to  make  application  to  the  state 
board  of  library  commissioners  for  the  aid 
offered  by  the  state  in  such  cases  provided, 
and  (2)  what  sum,  if  any,  to  appropriate 


8 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


for  the  maintenance  of  a  public  library. 
In  accordance  therewith  the  town  voted 
unanimously  to  elect  aboard  of  five  library 
trustees  and  instruct  them  to  apply  for  the 
state  aid,  the  trustees  so  elected  being  N. 

J.  Whitehill,  five  years,  W.  H.  DuBois, 
four  years,  J.  W.  Fargo,  three  years,  John 
B.  Goodrich,  two  years,  and  John  F.  Mead, 
one  year.  It  was  also  voted  to  appropriate 
the  sum  of  $100  for  library  maintenance 
and  to  establish  a  public  library  to  be  lo¬ 
cated  at  Randolph  village,  with  branches 
at  Randolph  Center  and  East  Randolph. 
The  state  aid  of  $100  was  thus  made  avail¬ 
able,  making  $200  in  all. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  library  trustees 
was  held  May  1,  1896.  N.  J.  Whitehill 
was  elected  president,  John  F.  Mead  vice- 
president,  and  Wm.  H.  DuBois  secretary 
and  treasurer.  It  was  voted  that  the 
library  should  be  called  the  Randolph 
Public  Library,  also  voted  to  suggest  a 
list  of  books  to  the  state  library  commis¬ 
sioners,  representing  the  state’s  donation, 
and  to  purchase  another  list  with  the  town’s 
appropriation,  also  to  procure  rooms  for 
the  library.  Provisions  were  made  for  the 
formulation  of  rules  and  regulations  to 
govern  the  library. 

Rooms  were  secured  in  DuBois  &  Gay’s 
block  over  the  R.  G.  Morton  drug  store, 
which  have  been  occupied  by  the  library 
down  to  the  present  time.  In  September, 
1896,  135  volumes  of  carefully  selected 
books  were  received  from  the  state  which 
formed  the  nucleus  for  the  Randolph  Pub¬ 
lic  Library.  Miss  Maud  Blanchard  was 
chosen  as  librarian — she  has  served  con¬ 
tinuously  until  now — and  on  November 
14,  1896,  the  library  was  opened  for  the 
delivery  of  books.  Between  this  date  and 
the  following  March  meeting  the  library 
had  grown  to  573  volumes,  166  volumes 
having  been  purchased  with  town  funds, 
79  presented  by  the  King’s  Daughters,  38 
by  the  Randolph  Book  club  and  156  by 
various  individuals,  indicating  a  commend¬ 
able  and  encouraging  disposition  to  aid  the 
infant  project. 

During  the  year  1897-98,  104  books  were 


purchased  and  1 10  donated,  increasing  the 
total  number  to  787.  Neat  cases,  with 
shelving,  had  been  placed  in  the  library 
rooms  at  this  time  to  hold  the  volumes. 

For  many  years  prior  to  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  Randolph  Public  Library,  the 
demand  for  such  an  institution  had  been 
partially  met  by  the  Ladies’  Library  asso¬ 
ciation,  an  organization  with  a  long  and 
interesting  history.  The  members  or 
stockholders  had  access  to  about  1,500  vol¬ 
umes  owned  by  the  association,  which  had 
been  accumulated  during  the  progress  of 
years.  In  December,  1898,  this  associa¬ 
tion,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  proposed  to 
give  this  large  number  of  books  and  some 
other  property  to  the  Public  Library,  to  be 
merged  therewith.  This  most  generous 
offer  was  duly  accepted  by  the  trustees 
and  proper  acknowledgment  returned. 
The  work  of  combining  the  two  libraries 
at  once  began,  the  1,500  volumes  being 
brought  to  the  Public  Library  rooms  and 
additional  cases  prepared  for  their  recep¬ 
tion.  The  entire  library  was  re-numbered 
and  re-catalogued.  Some  of  the  works 
were  duplicated,  but  not  many  that  should 
not  be.  With  this  large  addition  and  others 
made  during  the  year,  the  library  had 
now  grown  to  the  respectable  proportions 
of  2,544  volumes  and  a  great  increase  in 
interest  was  manifested.  During  1899- 
1900,  1 14  new  books  were  added. 

Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Crocker,  who  died  in 
Randolph,  November  29,  1899,  widow  of 
George  Crocker,  a  former  prosperous 
farmer  of  the  town,  by  her  will  made  the 
Randolph  Public  Library  the  residuary 
legatee  of  her  estate.  Preparations  were 
made  by  the  heirs  to  contest  the  will  but 
on  the  eve  of  the  trial  a  settlement  was 
effected  whereby  the  library  received  the 
larger  proportion  of  the  original  bequest, 
the  sum  realized  being  about  §3,500. 
This  fund,  by  vote  of  the  trustees,  was  to 
be  known  as  the  Sarah  Jane  Crocker  fund. 
It  was  placed  on  deposit  and  both  interest 
and  principal  are  available  for  general  pub¬ 
lic  library  purposes.  In  appreciation  of 
Mrs  Crocker’s  beneficence,  a  portrait  an 

d 


9 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


a  marble  tablet,  appropriately  inscribed 
are  to  be  placed  in  the  Kimball  Public  Li¬ 
brary. 

From  the  appropriations  made  and 
funds  received  from  other  sources  the  cur¬ 
rent  expenses  have  been  paid  and  the 
balance  has  been  used  in  the  purchase  of 
books,  together  with  receipts  from  fines, 
etc. 

Exactly  200  new  books  were  added  in 
1900-01  and  214  in  1901-02  making  a  total 


year’s  receipts,  has  been  so  used,  with 
the  result  that  about  1,900  volumes  have 
been  ordered  and  will  be  ready  for  the 
stack  room  as  soon  as  they  can  be  accom¬ 
modated.  With  other  volumes  donated 
during  the  present  year,  the  library  will 
number  5,000  volumes  of  well -selected 
works,  covering  the  full  range  of  desirable 
reading.  The  influence  that  these  books 
will  exert  in  this  community  cannot  be 
fully  estimated 


INTERIOR  VIEW  LOOKING  INTO  STACK  ROOM. 


on  March  1,  1902,  of  3,082  volumes.  March 
28,  1900,  a  branch  was  established  at  South 
Randolph.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the 
trustees  held  October  3,  1902,  the  need  of 
a  considerable  addition  of  new  books  in 
anticipation  of  the  library  building’s  com¬ 
pletion  was  considered  and  it  was  voted  to 
use  so  much  of  the  Sarah  Jane  Crocker 
fund  and  accrued  interest  to  Jan.  1,  1903, 
as  would  leave  the  balance  of  the  fund 
at  $2,000  for  the  purchase  of  new  books. 
The  sum  thus  available,  about  $1,600,  to¬ 
gether  with  $200  available  from  last 


The  growth  of  the  library  has  been  ma¬ 
terially  aided  by  the  annual  donation  from 
the  Ladies’  Book  club,  a  social  and  literary 
organization  of  Randolph,  of  the  books 
purchased  and  read  by  club  members.  A 
total  of  183  volumes  have  thus  been  pre¬ 
sented  during  the  six  years. 

As  an  indication  of  the  growth  of  interest 
in  the  library  the  following  table  is  given 
showing  the  number  of  different  persons 
who  have  taken  out  books,  also  the  total 
number  of  books  taken  out  at  the  library 
and  its  branches  during  each  year: 


10 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


1896  97  (3  mos.) 

241  persons, 

1,769  books 

1897-98, 

460 

7,453  “ 

1 898  99, 

592 

8,065  “ 

1899  00, 

717 

9,987  “ 

1900-01, 

825 

11,229  “ 

1901-02, 

932 

n,o43  “ 

Eight  hundred 

and  eighty- 

seven  people 

have  taken  9,700  books  directly  from  the 
library  rooms  during  the  past  year;  1.700 
books  have  been  taken  by  patrons  living 
at  or  near  the  Center;  44  persons  have 
taken  445  books  from  the  branch  at  East 
Randolph;  67  persons  have  taken  581 
books  from  the  branch  at  South  Randolph ; 
making  a  total  circulation  for  the  year  of 
10,726  volumes. 

When  Prof.  Whitehill  removed  from 
town,  his  place  was  taken  on  the  board  of 
trustees  by  Rev.  Homer  White,  and  A.  G. 
Osgood  succeeded  J.  B.  Goodrich,  who 
also  removed  from  town.  These  two  gen¬ 
tlemen,  with  the  three  remaining  original 
members,  Messrs.  DuBois,  Fargo  and 
Mead,  constitute  the  present  board  and 
have  rendered  most  faithful,  painstaking 
and  efficient  service  in  behalf  of  the  insti¬ 
tution. 

The  library  has  been  kept  open  two 
afternoons  a  week,  Wednesday  and  Satur¬ 
day,  since  its  establishment. 

The  branch  at  the  Center  was  discon¬ 
tinued  after  a  time,  the  patrons  there  pre¬ 
ferring  to  send  by  stage  driver  direct  to 
the  library  for  their  books. 


THE  LIBRARY'S  DONOR, 
COL.  ROBERT  J.  KIMBALL 
OF  RANDOLPH. 


COL.  ROBERT  J.  KIMBALL,  donor 
of  the  Kimball  Library  Building, 
comes  from  a  distinguished  line  of  ances¬ 
try  which  bore  its  full  part  in  redeeming 
New  England  from  the  forest  and  savage, 
and  later  in  throwing  off  the  British  yoke. 
Two  brothers,  Richard  and  Henry  Kim¬ 


ball,  who  sailed  from  Ipswich,  England, 
in  1634,  were  the  progenitors  of  the  New 
England  branch  One  of  the  descendants, 
Richard  Kimball,  who,  with  his  father, 
Capt.  John  Kimball,  had  taken  part  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  came  from  Connecticut 
with  his  wife,  Susannah  (Holden)  in  1796 
and  settled  in  Randolph,  being  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  this  town.  He  purchased  what 
was  later  known  as  the  Luther  Granger 
farm,  one  mile  north  of  Randolph  Center 
village,  and  resided  there  until  his  death 
in  1828. 

To  this  couple  fourteen  children  were 
born,  of  whom  only  five  reached  maturity. 
One  son,  Hiram  Kimball,  was  the  father 
of  Robert  Jackson  Kimball,  his  mother 
being  Jerusha  Bradish  of  W  oodburv,  \  t. 
Robert  was  the  second  child  and  son  and 
was  born  in  Randolph,  February  16,  1836. 
The  other  children  were  Richard  Holden 
(died  in  1883),  Alonzo  Griswold  (died  in 
1839),  Lloyd  Alonzo  (died  in  1843),  Laura 
Chase,  wife  of  the  late  Col.  John  B.  Mead 
(died  in  1897),  Hiram  (died  in  1899),  Chand¬ 
ler  Bradish  (died  in  1848),  William  Eugene 
(died  in  1874),  Lloyd  Alonzo,  who  lives  in 
New  York  city. 

Robert  J.  was  born  on  the  old  home¬ 
stead.  He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  the  West  Randolph  Acad¬ 
emy.  College  training  was  beyond  his 
reach,  a  fact  that  he  has  ever  deplored, 
and  which  has  led  him  to  establish  two  free 
scholarships,  one  at  the  University  of  Ver¬ 
mont.  and  one  at  Amherst  College,  for 
worthy  and  needy  young  men.  At  the 
early  age  of  thirteen,  he  was  a  newsboy  on 
the  then  recently  completed  Vermont  Cen¬ 
tral  railroad.  Soon  afterward  he  learned 
telegraphy  and  became  one  of  the  first 
operators  on  the  old  ^  ermont  &  Boston 
Telegraph  line,  which  was  within  six  years 
after  the  first  telegraph  message  was  sent. 
He  also  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  express 
business  during  the  period  he  was  located 
at  Randolph.  In  1862  he  engaged  in  the 
banking  business  at  Toronto,  Canada,  and 
there  married  in  1863  Martha  L.  Morse. 
In  1864  he  was  appointed  United  States 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


:onsul  at  Toronto  and  served  in  that  capac- 
ty  at  a  time  when  that  city  was  head¬ 
quarters  of  Confederates  and  their  sym¬ 
pathizers  plotting  against  the  government, 
rle  was  instrumental  in  causing  the  arrest 
>f  one  Capt.  Robert  Cobb  Kennedy,  chief 
>f  a  gang  who  had  tried  to  destroy  New 
fiork  city  by  fire  in  aid  of  the  South. 
Kennedy  was  convicted  as  a  spy  and  hanged 
n  1865. 

In  1865  was  established  the  banking 
louse  of  R.  J.  Kimball  &  Co.,  in  New 
tTork  city,  which  has  continued  up  to  the 
present.  During  the  panic  of  1872,  Mr. 
Kimball  was  obliged  to  settle  with  his 
;reditors  at  25  cents  on  the  dollar  Nine 
/ears  later,  having  re-established  his  for- 
;unes,  he  invited  his  creditors  to  a  ban¬ 
quet  and  on  turning  his  plate  each  person 
:ound  under  it  a  check  for  the  remaining 
75  per  cent.,  with  six  per  cent,  interest  for 
:he  full  period,  54  percent,  in  all,  amount- 
ng  to  many  thousands  of  dollars.  This 
rnusual  sense  of  honor  has  characterized 
2o\.  Kimball  in  all  his  business  transac- 
:ions  and  has  made  his  firm  a  mark  of  up- 
-ightness.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
New  York  Stock  Exchange  since  1867,  and 
lolds  seats  in  the  New  York  Produce 
Exchange,  the  Philadelphia  and  Chicago 
Stock  Exchanges,  has  membership  in  the 
New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
pther  high  financial  bodies  of  the  country. 
His  business  is  confined  strictly  to  legiti¬ 
mate  banking  and  brokerage. 

Col.  Kimball  has  maintained  a  home  in 
Randolph  ever  since  his  father’s  death  in 
1865  and  his  heart’s  interest  is  in  his  native 
town.  In  1887  he  built  the  residence 
known  as  Montague  Place,  occuqpying  a 
sightly  eminence  at  the  end  of  Randolph 
avenue — a  most  charming  country  seat. 
Here,  with  members  of  his  family,  he 
spends  all  of  the  summer  months  that  he 
can  snatch  from  his  busy  life  and  is  a  fre¬ 
quent  visitor  at  other  seasons.  He  also 
has  a  nice  home  on  Clinton  avenue  in 
Brooklyn. 

Col.  Kimball  was  aide-de-camp  on  Gov¬ 
ernor  Dillingham’s  staff  in  1888-89.  Pie 


>>.  l  H 

represented  Randolph  ;n  the  Vermont 
House  of  Reqpresentatives  in  1890-91,  serv¬ 
ing  on  the  committee  of  ways  and  means, 
committee  on  banks  and  special  joint  com¬ 
mittee  on  the  World’s  Columbian  Exposi¬ 
tion.  By  appointment  of  Gov  Fuller,  he 
represented  Vermont  at  the  Bankers’  Con¬ 
gress  at  Chicago  in  1893. 

In  his  New  York  home  Col.  Kimball 
has  not  lost  his  identity  as  a  Vermonter. 
He  was  instrumental  in  forming  that  flour¬ 
ishing  society  known  as  the  Brooklyn  So- 


COL.  ROBERT  J.  KIMBALL. 


ciety  of  Vermonters  and  has  been  its  sec¬ 
retary  and  qpresident.  He  has  also  been 
president  of  the  Vermont  Society  of  the 
Sons  of  the  Revolution  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Society  of  Colonial  Wars. 

During  the  Spanish-American  War,  Col. 
Kimball  contributed  generously  toward 
relieving  the  privations  of  the  Vermont 
soldiers  at  Fort  Ethan  Allen  and  Chicka- 
mauga.  He  made  a  formal  offer  to  Gov. 
Grout  to  equip  a  company  at  Randolph  for 
service  at  his  own  expense,  but  the  State’s 
quota  was  filled  and  the  offer  had  to  be  de¬ 
clined. 

Col.  Kimball  is  in  politics  a  Republican) 
in  religion  a  member  of  the  Baptist  de- 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOI‘ 


1*2  ' 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


•  noininatic-n  In  Brooklyn  he  has  been  a 
-trustee* of-  the  Emmanuel  Baptist  church, 
trustee  of  the  Brooklyn  Institute  of  Arts 
and  Sciences,  director  of  the  Brooklyn  Art 
association,  director  of  the  Hamilton  club, 
trustee  of  the  People’s  Trust  company  and 
is  a  member  of  other  leading  clubs  and 
societies  of  Greater  New  York.  He  has 
also  been  president  of  the  Iowa  Central 
railway.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the  University 
of  Vermont. 

Two  daughters,  Misses  Clara  and  Annie, 
and  one  son,  William  Eugene,  who  is 
associated  with  his  father  in  business,  form 
the  happy  family  circle  about  Col.  and 
Mrs.  Kimball. 


The  Kimball  Library  Building  is  but 
the  crowning  of  a  long  series  of  public  and 
private  benefactions  that  have  been  be¬ 
stowed  by  Col.  Kimball  on  Randolph  and 
its  people.  He  seems  to  delight  in  doing 
good.  No  one  excels  him  in  public  spirit 
or  generosity.  Many  of  his  acts  are  known, 
but  by  far  the  greater  number  are  per¬ 
formed  quietly,  with  a  modest  request  that 
nothing  be  said.  He  is  ever  thoughtful  of 
Randolph  and  ready  to  promote  the  happi¬ 
ness  and  welfare  of  her  citizens.  It  is  re¬ 
markable  how,  even  with  the  disposition 
to  give,  he  can  find  opportunity  to  do  so 
much  to  lighten  the  load  of  others. 


Dedicatory  Exercises. 


DEDICATION  DAY. 

TUESDAY,  FEBRUARY  24,  1903. 

PROGRAM. 

2:30  P.  M. 

1.  — Organ  Voluntary,  -  -  Selected 

MISS  ABBIE  CLARK. 

2.  — Greeting  by  Presiding  Officer, 

REV'.  GEORGE  E.  LADD. 

3.  — Prayer,  - 

REV.  G.  W.  PATTERSON, 

Randolph  Center. 

4- — Song,  -  -  “  To  thee,  O  Country,  ” 

Quartette. — miss  m.  blanche  spariiawk, 

MRS.  E.  D.  SEGAR, 

DR.  W.  M.  KELTY, 

A.  H.  BEEDLE. 

5.  — Report  on  the  New  Building, 

HON.  WM.  H.  DUBOIS. 

6.  — Presentation,  - 

COL.  ROBERT  J.  KIMBALL. 

7.  — Response,  ------ 

REV.  HOMER  WHITE,  D.  D., 

Chairman  Board  of  Trustees. 

8.  — Song,  -  “America.” 

QUARTETTE. 

9. — Poem,  -  -  .  -  “Books,” 

REV.  HOMER  WHITE,  D.  D. 

10.  — Song,  -  -  “Forget  Me  Not.  ” 

QUARTETTE. 

11.  — Address,  -  -  -  - 

PRESIDENT  M.  H.  BUCK  HAM, 

University  of  Vermont,  Burlington. 

12.  — Song,  “  Old  Hundred,  ”  -  two  verses. 

QUARTETTE  AND  AUDIENCE 

13.  — Benediction,  - 

REV.  F.  G.  RAINEY. 

14.  — Organ  Postlude,  - 

MISS  ABBIE  CLARK. 

The  exercises  took  place  in  the  Congre¬ 
gational  Church,  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
assemblage,  and  were  followed  by  a  recep¬ 
tion  at  the  Kimball  Library  Building. 


WORDS  OF  GREETING. 


BY  REV.  GEO.  E.  [.ADD. 


S  pastor  of  the  church  in  whose  house 
of  worship  we  assemble  to  day,  it 
becomes  my  privilege  to  extend  to  you  all 
a  word  of  greeting.  I  am  very  glad  that 
these  exercises  are  held  in  this  place 
Although  not  an  attendant  upon  its  ser¬ 
vices,  the  donor  of  our  library  has  long 
been  regarded  a  warm  friend  of  this 
church.  And  a  few  years  ago,  with  char¬ 
acteristic  generosity  and  with  loyal  devo 
tion  to  the  memory  of  the  mother  and 
sister  who  were  for  many  years  members 
of  this  church,  he  placed  here  the  beauti¬ 
ful  memorial  window  which  is  a  constant 
joy  and  source  of  inspiration  to  pastor  and 
people  alike.  Accordingly  it  is  with  an 
added  joy  that  I  welcome  him  add  all  in 
whose  hearts  there  is  a  deep  sense  of  grati¬ 
tude  to  him  to  this  house  of  worship 
to  day. 

The  church,  the  library,  and  the  school 
must  ever  stand  side  by  side  as  institutions 
aiming  to  promote  the  higher  life  of  the 
community.  Their  aims  are  not  identical, 
their  methods  of  work  differ,  and  yet  each 
in  its  own  way  seeks  to  elevate,  broaden, 
and  enrich  the  lives  of  individuals,  and 
through  them  the  life  of  the  community  as 
a  whole.  Each  has  a  practical  aim  :  not 
enjoyment  merely  ;  not  the  cultivation  of 
the  intellectual,  aesthetic,  or  spiritual  sen¬ 
sibilities  only,  but  even  more,  the  building 
of  character  and  the  training  of  men  and 
women  for  the  active  work  of  life,  with  its 
burdens  and  its  temptations. 

And  here  on  our  Main  street,  so  close 
together  that  they  seem  to  clasp  hands, 
stand  these  three  institutions  —  the 
churches,  the  library  and  the  school — each 
seeking  in  its  own  way  “not  to  be  minis¬ 
tered  unto  but  to  minister.” 


14 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


A  little  farther  on  is  the  business  center 
of  our  village  and  town ;  here  seems  to  be 
the  religious  and  educational  center. 

Because  of  the  far-reaching  importance 
of  the  event  which  we  consummate  to-day. 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  this  a  red- 
letter  day  in  the  history  of  this  town.  A 
force  is  set  in  operation  to-day  whose  effect 
will  be  felt  throughout  this  town,  to  its 
remotest  corner,  a  force  whose  influence 


PRAYER  OF  DEDICATION. 


BY  REV.  G.  W.  PATTERSON. 


LMIGHTY  and  most  gracious  God, 
whose  primal  decree,  Let  there  be 
light!  is  ever  thy  latest  word,  open  thou 
our  eyes,  that  we  may  worship  thee  as  the 
eternal  source  of  the  good,  the  beautiful, 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  THE  ROTUNDA. 


none  can  measure,  and  to  whose  working 
none  can  set  any  limit  either  of  space  or  of 
time. 

A  beautiful  building,  tasteful  furnish¬ 
ings,  well-filled  book  shelves — this  library 
will  help  continually  to  educate  the  aes¬ 
thetic,  the  intellectual,  the  moral,  and  the 
spiritual  faculties  of  all  who  enter  it,  and, 
to  a  certain  extent,  of  all  who  pass  its  door. 

This  is  the  institution  which  we  are  to 
dedicate  to-day  with  address,  prayer  and 
song. 

In  these  exercises  let  all  participate 
heartily  and  gratefully. 


the  true;  as,  alike,  the  inspiration  of  the 
intellectual  and  the  moral  life,  whose  liberal 
Spirit,  leading  into  all  truth,  worketh  in 
the  bosoms  of  men  in  manifold  ways  and  for 
the  fulfillment  of  wondrous  issues  —  not 
alone  when  character  is  supremely  built, 
but  when  the  noble  picture  is  painted  and 
the  worthy  book  written,  when  principles 
of  science  are  enunciated  and  policies  of 
state  established. 

From  before  the  foundation  of  the  worlds, 
ere  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  thy 
work  began.  But  thou  weariest  not,  divid- 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


15 


ing  the  night  from  the  day,  commanding 
the  continual  sun  to  arise,  and  guiding  into 
a  diviner  light  the  souls  of  men,  whom  the 
stars  cannot  satisfy,  nor  the  moon,  nor  the 
sun ! 

O  thou  Father  of  lights,  in  finding  whom 
we  find  ourselves,  from  whom  cometh  the 
passion  for  truth  and  the  power  of  quest, 
illuminate  at  this  time  our  thought  and 
endue  us  with  a  wider  sense  of  thy  pres¬ 
ence,  that  we  may  dedicate  religiously  our 
new  temple  of  knowledge,  builded  fitly 
beside  shrines  of  prayer,  recognizing  in  the 
library,  as  in  school  and  in  church,  a  visi 
ble  sign  and  instrumentality  of  thy  king¬ 
dom  in  the  world,  into  which  men  must 
consent  to  enter  if  they  would  fulfill  their 
entire  nature,  and  so  be  made  whole! 

And  in  honoring  him  from  whom  we 
are  to  receive  for  our  children,  and  for  our 
children’s  children,  the  beautiful  building 
that  through  the  years  shall  house  our 
priceless  treasures,  we  honor  thee,  for  in 
thy  Spirit  has  he  wrought  in  obeying  the 
spirit  of  human  service,  and  as  thy  steward 
in  receiving  his  wealth  as  a  trust  from 
thee 

For  the  wise  use  and  administration  of 
this  noble  gift,  endow  our  community  with 
an  adequate  sense  of  its  responsibility  and 
privilege.  And  by  all  who  shall  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunities  freely 
given,  and  to  none  may  they  be  given  in 
vain,  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  knowl¬ 
edge  is  of  little  worth  except  as  a  stepping- 
stone  to  character,  power  of  service,  and 
the  altruistic  life.  And  be  it  always  re¬ 
membered  that  the  open  door  of  the  library, 
like  that  of  the  school  or  of  the  church,  is 
a  door  opened  into  the  presence  of  God. 
With  Augustine,  may  we  learn  to  say: 
“Where  I  found  truth,  there  found  I  my 
God,  who  is  the  truth  itself!” 

We  thank  thee  for  the  larger  significance 
of  this  hour,  that  truth  has  been  brought 
down  from  the  lonely  mountain- peak  into 
the  crowded  plain,  and  from  the  cloister 
into  the  marketplace.  We  thank  thee,  thou 
great  Father  of  us  all,  that  in  thy  provi¬ 
dence  the  gospel  of  research,  like  the  gospel 


of  regeneration,  is  coming  to  be  preached 
to  every  creature ! 

And,  O  God, 

“  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more, 

But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell; 

That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 

May  make  one  music  as  before, 

But  vaster  *  *  *  * 

And  may  all  learning,  in  meekness  re¬ 
ceived,  bring  us  to  the  feet  of  him,  after 
all  scholarship  still  our  greatest  teacher, 
who  came  that  we  might  know  thee,  and 
not  merely  about  thee,  whom  to  know 
aright  is  eternal  life!  Amen. 


REPORT  OF  BUILDING  COM¬ 
MITTEE. 


BY  WM.  H.  DUBOIS. 


I  N  behalf  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
1  Library,  and  as  treasurer  of  the  board, 
in  whose  charge  the  erection  of  the  library 
building  was  placed,  I  will  make  a  brief 
statement  showing  in  a  measure  what 
Robert  J.  Kimball  has  done  in  this  matter 
for  his  native  town.  Col.  Kimball  protests 
against  this  statement  being  made,  but  we 
think  it  is  due  to  him  that  our  townspeople 
should  know  something  of  the  value  of  the 
gift  they  receive  to-day  from  his  hands. 

On  the  first  day  of  October,  1901,  Col. 
Kimball  signified  to  the  town,  in  a  letter 
to  the  selectmen,  that  it  was  his  purpose 
to  give  to  the  town  ten  thousand  dollars 
for  a  library  building,  exclusive  of  site  and 
furnishings.  A  site  was  purchased  by  the 
village  of  Randolph  at  an  expense  of  three 
thousand,  two  hundred  dollars,  and  deeded 
to  the  town.  Plans  for  the  building  were 
agreed  upon  and  the  original  contract  was 
made  for  a  structure  to  cost  twelve  thou¬ 
sand  dollars. 

By  additions  and  improvements  of  the 
original  plan,  suggested  by  Col.  Kimball, 
consisting  of  changes  in  and  finer  finish  of 
the  inside  work,  terrazzo  marbled  floor 
and  marble  wainscotting,  a  large  copper 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


it; 


dome,  the  heating  apparatus  and  electric 
lighting  and  the  entire  furnishings  of  the 
building,  so  that  he  might  present  it  to¬ 
day,  complete  in  every  respect,  without 
expense  to  the  town,  the  cost  to  Col.  Kim¬ 
ball  amounts  to  seventeen  thousand  dollars. 

In  addition  to  this  we  have  received 
from  the  family  of  the  late  Hiram  Kimball 
a  reference  library  costing  $500  which 
books,  added  to  the  new  books  bought 
with  money  appropriated  therefor  from 
the  Sarah  J ane  Crocker  fund,  and  other  pur 
chases  and  gifts  of  books,  will,  together 
with  those  now  in  the  library  rooms,  give 
the  town  a  library  of  just  about  5,000 
volumes. 

We  have  also  received  from  Mr.  Horace 
J.  Morse,  brother-in-law  of  Col.  Kimball, 
a  gift  of  a  valuable  globe  for  the  library 
costing  $250,  and  a  handsome  library  clock 
has  been  presented  by  Mr.  George  A. 
White,  for  many  years  the  cashier  of  the 
banking  house  of  R.  J.  Kimball  &  Co., 
in  New  York.  This  library  thus  built, 
adorned  and  furnished  by  many  generous 
gifts,  is  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the 
people  of  the  town  of  Randolph  and  will 
be  free  to  them  and  their  children  forever. 


PRESENTATION. 

BY  COL.  ROBERT  J.  KIMBALL. 

year  ago  to-day  I  was  in  Egypt  with 
a  party  of  friends,  up  the  River 
Nile  at  least  500  miles  from  its  mouth.  If 
you  were  about  to  make  preparations  for 
a  trip  abroad,  especially  in  those  flat 
Eastern  countries,  where  fevers  are  so 
prevalent,  you  would  probably  first  ask 
your  doctor  as  to  what  you  should  do,  or 
what  you  should  avoid  doing,  in  order  to 
preserve  your  health  while  there.  His 
first  answer  would  be,  to  avoid  drinking 


the  natural  waters  of  the  country.  And 
so  on  our  trip  up  the  Nile  we  obeyed  the 
instructions.  But  one  of  our  party  per¬ 
sisted  in  drinking  the  “  pure  water  of  the 
Nile,”  as  he  called  it,  because  it  is  a  tradi¬ 
tion  there,  that  those  who  drink  of  it  will 
have  an  inexpressible  longing  to  return. 

I  have  sometimes  wondered  if  the  waters 
of  our  mountain  brooks  did  not  contain  the 
same  microbes  as  those  of  the  muddy  Nile, 
and  infect  the  boys  as  they  go  out  from 
their  Vermont  homes  so  that  they  ever 
after  have  an  intense  longing  to  return. 
Whether  it  is  the  same  cause  or  not,  evi¬ 
dently  the  effect  is  the  same,  and  those 
who,  after  many  years  of  business,  espe¬ 
cially  if  under  Providence  they  have  estab¬ 
lished  their  callings  so  near  the  home  of 
their  youth  that  they  can  return  frequent¬ 
ly,  soon  develop  another  stage  of  the  dis¬ 
ease,  and  desire  to  do  something  for  good 
that  may  indicate  their  attachment,  per¬ 
haps  for  many  years,  even  after  they 
themselves  have  passed  away. 

I  confess  that  I  have  been  more  or  less 
stricken  with  this  disease.  And  to  day  I 
am  happy  to  say  that  we  may  realize  what 
has  been  for  a  long  time  in  our  hearts.  I 
do  not  speak  in  the  singular  person,  be¬ 
cause  in  our  family  we  have  an  “  executive 
committee.”  to  whom  all  such  matters  go, 
and  unless  it  should  be  unanimous,  noth¬ 
ing  would  be  done.  So  I  speak  for  my 
wife  and  my  children,  that  we  in  our 
happiness  are  enabled  to  see  the  comple¬ 
tion  of  our  desires  What  form  such  a 
testimonial  should  take,  is  not  always  easy 
to  decide.  But  to-day  we  are  ready  to 
present  to  you  a  home  for  our  friends  ;  and 
who  are  so  true,  so  constant,  so  faithful 
friends,  as  books?  Hear  what  Henry 
Ward  Beecher  says  : 

II  Books  are  at  ouce  our  friends,  our 
masters  and  our  servants.  They  have  a 
silent  independence,  an  unchanging  voice, 
a  calm  declaration  of  truth  as  they  will. 
But  they  are  unobtrusive.  They  wait  for 
our  moods  and  our  leisure.  They  are 
never  jealous  if  we  neglect  them,  nor  quar¬ 
relsome  when  we  are  familiar.  They  wait 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


17 


upon  us  in  youth,  in  manhood,  and  in  old 
age,  with  a  vivacity  that  time  never  chills, 
and  an  instructiveness  that  repetition  never 
wearies. 

“  Books  gradually  lose  their  inert  and 
dead  form  and  become  to  us  like  persons 
who  have  pulse  and  articulate  voice.  We 
feel  more  intimately  acquainted  with  au¬ 
thors  two  hundred  years  dead,  than  we  do 
with  our  daily  companions.  A  book  is 
better  for  weariness  than  sleep;  better  for 
cheerfulness  than  wine;  and  it  will  hold 
out  with  the  longest  night  that  watcher 
ever  saw.  It  often  is  a  better  physician 
than  the  doctor,  a  better  preacher  than  the 
minister,  a  better  sanctuary  than  the  drowsy 
church.  ” 

In  making  this  presentation  to  you  we 
do  not  attach  to  it  any  conditions.  Our 
only  desire  is  that  you  shall  be  liberal  in 
your  appreciation  of  the  value  it  may  be, 
by  giving  it  such  cordial  and  large  appro¬ 
priations  for  maintenance  as  will  make  it 
most  useful  to  yourselves,  your  children 
and  to  generations  to  come. 

The  usefulness  of  libraries  as  elements  of 
education  has  within  the  last  few  years 
advanced  with  giant  strides.  No  longer  is 
a  librarian  considered  efficient  who  only 
politely  receives  your  books,  and  takes  from 
the  shelves  just  those  which  are  asked  for, 
and  gives  them  to  you  in  return.  But  he 
must  know  much  of  the  books  themselves, 
much  of  the  teachings  and  classification  of 
books,  so  that  he  may  help  the  reader  to 
get  the  best  advantage  from  them;  as  one 
says,  “  To  introduce  the  right  book  to  the 
right  person  is  almost  as  much  of  a  pleas¬ 
ure  as  to  bring  together  two  congenial  peo¬ 
ple.  ”  Librarians  are  now  educated  as  to  a 
profession.  Many  of  our  universities  and 
other  great  institutions  of  learning,  such  as 
the  Pratt  Institute,  have  normal  depart¬ 
ments  for  the  education  of  librarians,  and 
the  demand  for  them  for  important  places 
in  the  rapid  growth  of  libraries  is  such  that 
it  is  hard  to  keep  the  classes  full  to  grad¬ 


uation.  Andrew  Carnegie  has  just  given 
$100,000  to  an  institution  for  this  pur¬ 
pose. 

The  trustees  have  wisely  made  a  large 
addition  of  books  as  a  foundation  for  the 
new  library;  and  I  hope  from  the  begin¬ 
ning,  that  such  a  proficient  librarian  will 
be  put  in  charge  as  to  enable  us  to  start 
out  with  every  possible-  benefit  which  we 
may  hope  for.  If  this  shall  be  accom¬ 
plished  our  sincerest  desire  will  be  com¬ 
plete. 

May  I  indulge  in  a  little  explanation,  or 
shall  I  say  apology?  Our  original  inten¬ 
tion  was  to  contribute  something  of  the 
means  to  the  trustees  to  make  such  a 
building  as  they  thought  best.  This  plan 
was  afterward  changed,  or  changed  itself, 
I  don’t  know  which;  but,  at  any  rate, 
without  any  premeditation  or  malice  afore¬ 
thought,  I  seemed  to  have  my  own  way, 
and  as  there  was  no  opposition  to  it,  there 
was  perfect  harmony  between  us.  While 
the  building  is  still  my  own,  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  to  hang  from  its  walls  certain 
pictures  and  portraits. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Jane  Crocker, — the  first  bene¬ 
factress  of  this  library,  who  bequeathed 
$3,500  for  its  general  use;  a  large  propor¬ 
tion  of  which  was  used  in  the  purchase  of 
books,  as  a  foundation  for  the  new  library. 
It  is  appropriate  that  her  portrait  should 
hang  on  the  walls. 

Hiram  Kimball,  Jr. ,-of  Cleveland, Ohio. 
His  children  have  presented  a  library  of 
reference  books  as  a  memorial  to  their 
father.  I  have  placed  his  portrait  in  the 
department  with  the  books. 

Chief  Judge  John  W.  Rowell — to  him 
I  owe  much  as  my  counsel  and  advisor  in 
this  enterprise,  even  before  the  decision 
was  made  to  enter  upon  it.  I  wish  to 
make  this  public  acknowledgment  to 
you,  and  for  you  to  him,  for  the  services 
that  he  has  rendered.  And  not  only  this, 
but  as  one  holding  the  most  exalted 


18 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


judicial  position  in  the  gift  of  the  people 
of  the  State,  obtained  through  his  inde¬ 
fatigable  energy,  useful  and  busy  life,  the 
honorable  and  steady  growth  of  charac¬ 
ter  and  ability,  and  because  of  our  appre¬ 
ciation  and  pride  in  having  one  so  distin¬ 
guished  a  citizen  and  neighbor — one  of  us 
— his  portrait  should,  as  it  does,  adorn  the 
walls  of  our  public  building. 

The  Reverend  Homer  White  —  the 
worthy  president  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  library.  He  has  given  to  us  the 
best  years  of  his  profession,  the  highest 
calling  to  which  a  man  can  devote  his  life, 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  our 
Saviour.  We  are  better,  the  world  is  bet¬ 
ter,  because  of  his  living  with  us.  We  are 
honored  with  his  portrait. 

Honorable  William  H.  DuBois— not  only 
because  we  were  boys  together,  and  he  has 
been  one  of  my  most  intimate  and  valued 
friends,  but  because  he  is  a  prominent 
citizen,  devoting  many  years  of  much  ser¬ 
vice  to  the  town  and  to  the  state,  and  be¬ 
cause  during  the  last  year  in  the  construc¬ 
tion  of  our  building  he  has  devoted  much 
time  and  work  every  day  in  watching  and 
advising  in  its  progress,  having  more  care 
and  anxiety  than  anyone  else;  and  to  him 
we  are  much  indebted  for  the  satisfactory 
completion  as  it  is.  It  is  appropriate  that 
his  portrait  also  should  adorn  the  walls. 
I  have  taken  this  liberty  almost  under  the 
protest  of  the  parties  interested,  but  I 
am  sure  you  will  heartily  endorse  my 
action. 

Now,  Mr.  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  representing  the  town  of  Ran¬ 
dolph,  I  place  in  your  hand,  as  a  gift  from 
myself  and  family,  the  deed  of  the  build¬ 
ing,  which  the  people,  in  meeting  assem¬ 
bled,  have  given  a  name.  May  it  be  a 
fountain  of  usefulness  and  pleasure  to  the 
people  in  my  Vermont  home. 


RESPONSE. 


i;y  rev.  homer  white,  s.  t.  d. 

OL.  KIMBALL —Honored  Sir  : 

It  devolves  upon  me  to  respond  to 
your  speech  of  presentation  and  in  behalf 
of  the  trustees  and  of  the  grateful  people 
of  your  native  town,  to  accept  with  hearty 
thanks  the  noble  gift  of  the  Kimball  Public 
Library. 

It  was  built  we  know  with  noble  inten¬ 
tions;  it  will  be  devoted  to  noble  uses.  You 
have  made  it,  by  your  generosity,  a  gem 
of  beauty  and,  standing  as  it  does  nearly 
in  the  center  of  our  lovely  village,  it  adorns 
our  principal  street  and  is  an  object  lesson 
to  all  beholders.  It  teaches  the  value  of 
books  and  learning,  and  the  still  greater 
value  of  patriotic,  home-loving  and  gener¬ 
ous  men  who  are  willing  to  give  of  their 
substance  for  the  benefit  of  the  public — 
the  benefit  of  the  poor  especially — and  ask 
for  no  return.  You  have  realized  that  it 
is  better  to  place  the  right  book  in  a  boy’s 
hands  than  to  fill  his  hands  with  gold.  You 
are  conscious  (and  this  building  which  we 
accept  to-day  is  proof  of  it)  that  in  the  in¬ 
telligence  of  the  people  lies  the  surest  hope 
of  the  permanence  of  our  free  institutions 
and  of  the  greatness  and  glory  of  our  coun¬ 
try.  It  is  a  pleasant  thought  to  us,  and 
must  be  so  to  you  also,  that  this  building 
stands  upon  the  very  spot  of  ground  where 
once  stood  the  home  of  your  childhood. 
May  it  long  remain — for  many  genera¬ 
tions — to  be  a  worthy  monument  to  your 
memory.  Again  we  thank  you,  while  re¬ 
gretting  that  Judge  Rowell,  who  had  been 
selected  by  the  trustees  to  perform  this 
office  and  make  this  response,  is  prevented 
by  sickness  from  being  here  to  day.  He 
would  have  more  eloquently  expressed  the 
sentiments  of  your  fellow-townsmen,  but 
he  could  not  have  felt  a  warmer  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  your  gift  or  a  more  sincere  respect 
for  Randolph’s  benefactor. 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


19 


BOOKS. 

BY  REV.  HOMER  WHITE. 

Iti  books  preserved,  the  wisdom  of  the  world 
Leads  man’s  advancement  with  more  rapid  pace 
Than  could  unlettered  genius  e’er  attain 

Though  struggling  hard  to  reach  a  higher  place. 

In  books  the  ancients  wrote  we  trace  their  way 
And  find  embalmed  the  wisdom  of  the  past ; 

In  books  the  arts  and  learning  live  for  aye 
And  those  grand  tomes  forevermore  will  last. 

The  Book  of  books  gives  wisdom  all  divine 
And  beams  of  sacred  light  from  it  are  thrown  ; 
Wherever  man  in  error’s  path  is  lost, 

To  him  the  path  of  righteousness  is  shown. 
Herodotus  with  fine  historic  pen 
Tells  what  he  knew  of  races  now  unknown, 

And  Plato,  Livy,  and  a  brilliant  host 

Left  us  their  books  and  to  the  shades  have  flown. 
Grand  Homer,  Virgil,  Dante,  Shakespeare  sing 
Their  songs  of  rhythmic  beauty  free  and  bold — 
Songs  which  will  live  till  earth  grows  gray  with  age, 
And  till  the  heav’ns  together  shall  be  rolled. 

On  such  foundations  we  may  build  and  frame 
Bright  palaces  of  truth  in  this  our  age, 

The  age  of  science,  and  may  leave  to  shine 
A  name  immortal  on  time’s  glowing  page. 

Among  these  verdant  hills  of  fair  Vermont 
Let  Learning’s  lofty  towers  all  stately  rise 
And  far,  like  beacon-fires,  light  up  the  way 
To  guide  the  watcher  where  no  danger  lies. 

While  partial  nature  has  so  dowered  our  state 
With  scenes  of  beauty  to  attract  the  eye, 

Let  grander  men  to  grander  vision  grow 

And  learn  to  live  that  they  may  learn  to  die. 

In  books  we  find  a  solace  and  a  charm, 

The  inspiration  of  great  minds  and  strong, 

And,  following  the  path  by  giants  blazed, 

Through  rough  defiles,  up  steeps  in  windings  long, 
We  reach  at  length  the  summit  of  the  mount. 

There,  clear  and  unobstructed,  lies  the  view 
Of  all  around  and,  far  beneath  our  feet 

In  sunlight  bathed,  the  way  which  men  pursue 
Who  seek  the  highest  good  and  wisely  tread 
Above  the  low  ambitions  of  the  crowd, 

And  grandly  stand  on  Alpine  heights  of  mind 
Where  only  stand  those  by  the  gods  endowed. 

Let  princely  men  then  act  the  princely  part 
And  to  their  fellows  give  a  right  of  way  ; 

Guide  and  direct  the  youth  who  seeks  the  height 
Where  cloudless  sunbeams  on  the  climber  play. 

May  every  vale  where  nowrthe  darkness  falls 
Some  Kimball  find  who  will  disperse  the  shade ; 
Who,  making  others  wiser,  can  but  learn 

His  own  best  good  by  his  own  goodness  made. 


20 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


DEDICATORY  ADDRESS. 


BY  PRESIDENT  M.  H.  BUCKHAM,  D.  D. 


I T  is  interesting  to  note  how  the  home 
*  feeling  is  growing  in  the  breasts  of 
Vermonters.  We  have  now  our  “Old 
Home  Week”  as  an  established  annual 
feature.  More  and  more,  Vermonters  are 
coming  back  and  rebuilding  the  family 
hearth.  Many  who  have  spent  their  lives 
in  other  parts  of  the  country  show  their 
affections  for  the  state  of  their  birth  by 
gifts  and  memorials  in  aid  of  church  and 
school  and  college  and  library.  We  are 
glad  that  others,  not  of  our  own  family, 
are  beginning  to  appreciate  the  attractions 
of  our  state,  the  picturesque  beauty  of  its 
scenery,  the  heathfulness  of  its  climate, 
the  intelligence,  thrift,  sobriety  and  virtue 
of  its  population,  and  that  men  of  wealth 
and  leisure  and  taste  are  establishing  their 
homes  among  us.  But  it  is  still  more 
gratifying  to  see  those  who,  as  young  men, 
went  out  from  us,  to  our  great  loss,  carry¬ 
ing  their  energy  and  enterprise  into  the 
cities  and  the  West,  enriching  themselves 
and  the  communities  in  which  they  have 
lived,  coming  back  as  mature  men  and 
laying  the  fruits  of  their  exertions  in  trib¬ 
utes  of  affection  and  gratitude  and  pride 
at  the  feet  of  the  old  mother  who  blessed 
them  when  they  went  and  thrice  blesses 
them  when  they  return. 

In  this  most  welcome  and  growing  affec¬ 
tion  for  our  and  their  state  on  the  part  of 
her — not  prodigal,  but  returning — sons, 
several  modes  of  manifesting  the  one  com¬ 
mon  feeling  vie  with  each  other,  favoring 
now  the  church,  now  the  college,  the 
schools,  the  park,  or  common,  or  cemetery, 
the  soldiers’  monument,  the  hospital.  Ic 
seems  to  me  highly  characteristic  of  the 
public  spirit  of  Vermonters  that  so  many 
at  the  present  time  show  a  preference  for 
the  public  library.  In  this  form  of  bene¬ 
ficence,  the  giver  shows  his  high  estimate 
of  the  two  factors  which,  more  than  any 
others,  have  made  Vermont  what  it  has 


been  and  is — general  intelligence  and  the 
democratic  spirit.  The  public  library, 
in  a  sense  which  is  not  quite  as  true  of 
any  other  public  institution,  offers  its  ad¬ 
vantages  to  all  the  individuals  in  a  com¬ 
munity,  to  all  classes  alike,  to  rich  and 
poor,  young  and  old,  sick  and  well.  I  can 
well  understand  how  a  public-spirited  citi¬ 
zen,  valuing  as  he  would  a  high  grade  of 
intelligence  in  a  community  at  large,  re¬ 
membering  how  meagre  were  the  advan¬ 
tages  for  gaining  such  intelligence  in  his 
youth,  how  books  were  few  and  available 
only  to  the  rich,  how  much  talent  lay  un- 


PRESl  DENT  M.  11  BUCKHAM,  D .  D. 

developed  and  went  to  waste  because 
knowledge  did  not  unroll  her  ample  page, 
rich  with  the  roster  of  time  in  homes 
where  genius  and  chill  penury  dwelt  to¬ 
gether,  I  can  well  understand  why  our 
public-spirited  citizen  should  say  to  him¬ 
self,  and  to  the  members  of  his  family 
thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  him,  “Let 
us  build  and  equip  a  library  in  which  all 
our  neighbors  and  fellow-townsmen,  the 
poorest  and  the  hardest  worked,  the  day 
laborer,  the  shopman  and  clerk,  the  hired 
boy  on  the  farm,  the  hired  maid  in  the 
kitchen,  as  well  as  the  judge,  the  lawyer, 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


•21 


the  merchant,  the  doctor,  may  all,  and  all 
alike,  have  access  to  the  best  literature  of 
the  world  and  of  the  time.”  And  while 
we  all  admire  and  are  grateful  for  the 
splendid  liberality  with  which  Mr.  Carnegie 
has  built  libraries  by  hundreds  all  over 
our  country,  I  can  understand  how  our 
public-spirited  citizen  should  say,  as  he 
has  said  in  more  than  one  instance,  to  Mr. 
Carnegie,  “This  town  is  to  me  like  the 
one  live  lamb  of  scripture  ;  it  lies  very 
near  my  heart ;  I  was  born  here  ;  my  an¬ 
cestors  are  buried  here  ;  I  grew  up  here 
with  the  boys  and  girls  who  are  now  men 
and  women  living  here  ;  no  other  place  is 
so  dear  to  me  ;  I  want  to  do  something  to 
show  my  undying  interest  in  the  old  place. 
Put  your  libraries  everywhere  else,  and 
God  bless  you  for  them,  but  leave  this 
place  to  me,  and  do  not  rob  me  of  the 
pleasure  I  have  long  been  cherishing  of 
giving  my  home  and  the  home  of  my  family, 
too,  an  institution  which  for  a  long  time 
to  come  will,  I  hope,  be  a  blessing  to  this 
community.  ” 

But  when  one  public-spirited  citizen  has 
done  his  part  in  a  great  public  benefit  like 
this,  it  is  incumbent  on  those  who  receive 
the  benefit  to  study  how  they  can  best 
carry  out  the  intentions  of  the  giver  of 
their  library.  I  am  not  addressing  a  com¬ 
munity  of  persons  who  are  strangers  to 
books,  and  who  therefore  need  rudimen¬ 
tary  instruction  in  the  use  of  them.  I  can 
assure  myself,  then,  in  the  suggestions  I 
may  make  in  regard  to  the  best  use  of  the 
collection  of  books  to  which  you  will  have 
access,  I  am  speaking  to  those  who  are, 
or  desire  to  be,  not  only  eager  and  diligent 
readers,  but  also  intelligent  thinkers  upon 
what  they  read,  and  how  to  read  with  the 
greatest  pleasure  and  profit. 

A  miscellaneous  public  library  in  our 
time  naturally  divides  into  two  parts,  first, 
fiction;  second,  all  other  books.  The  stan¬ 
dard  statistical  report  gives  under  one 
head,  “Fiction  and  Juveniles,  ”  and  another 
bead,  “Other  Books.”  It  is  a  significant 
fact.  The  prominence  of  fiction  in  the 
reading  of  the  time  is  thus  thoroughly 


brought  out.  It  challenges  our  attention 
and  calls  for  serious  thought.  There  was 
a  time,  and  that  within  the  memory  of 
some  of  us,  when  there  was  a  prohibitory 
law  against  fiction,  and  it  was  fairly  well 
enforced.  The  pulpit  fulminated  against 
it,  godly  parents  tabooed  it,  the  best  pub¬ 
lic  opinion  kept  it  strictly  on  the  defensive. 
What  a  change  to  our  time!  We  have  not 
even  a  high  license  law  restricting  it.  We 
have  free  fiction  everywhere.  Ministers, 
so  far  from  preaching  against  it.  quote 
freely  from  it  in  their  sermons.  I  lately 
heard  a  sermon  in  which  the  preacher  illus¬ 
trated  his  points  by  three  references  to 
popular  fiction  and  one  to  the  Bible.  One 
feels  himself  hardly  qualified  to  engage  in 
general  conversation  unless  he  is  well  up  in 
all  the  latest  novels.  Now  all  this  shows 
our  tendency  to  run  into  extremes — now  to 
one  extreme,  now  to  another.  The  old 
malediction  against  novel  reading  was  un¬ 
reasonable,  because  it  was  based  on  a  prin¬ 
ciple  which  would  shut  out  much  of  the 
world’s  best  literature,  including  parts  of 
the  Bible,  and  many  of  the  most  instructive 
and  wholesome  books  for  all  classes,  espec¬ 
ially  the  young  and  unreflecting.  How 
unwise  it  would  be,  in  order  to  insure  our 
youth  against  a  certain  number  of  corrupt¬ 
ing  stories,  to  set  up  a  standard  which 
would  rule  out  Pilgrim’s  Progress  and 
Robinson  Crusoe  and  Swiss  Family  Rob¬ 
inson  and  Alice  in  Wonderland  and  the 
Waverley  Novels  and  the  Green  Moun¬ 
tain  Boys!  But  on  the  other  hand,  who 
would  not  regard  it  as  a  great  pity  and 
a  great  mistake  that  our  young  people 
should  acquire  such  a  depraved  appetite 
for  sensational  fiction  that  they  had  no 
power  of  relishing  the  great  writers,  the 
poets  and  historians  and  philosophers,  the 
biographers  and  essayists,  that  even  the 
more  reflective  and  serious  of  the  works 
of  fiction  should  be  tiresome  to  them  ? 
Nothing  in  this  connection  has  startled 
me  more  than  the  avowal  recently  of  a 
young  girl,  well  educated  and  a  great 
reader  for  her  years,  that  she  found 
Ivanhoe  so  tedious  that  she  could  not  read 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


22 

through  it!  What  highly-spiced  food  had 
she  been  eating  that  such  good  beef  and 
bread  was  unpalatable  to  her?  A  long  ex¬ 
perience  in  one  public  library  and  an  in¬ 
quisitive  acquaintance  with  many  support 
me  in  the  prediction  that  unless  the  read¬ 
ing  public  of  Randolph  is  different  from 
that  of  most  towns,  the  librarian  and  the 
library  committee  of  this  library  will  be 
entreated  and  urged  by  a  clamorous  appeal 


story  of  thrilling  adventure,  the  girl  her 
romance  of  fairyland,  the  man  or  woman 
shut  off  from  the  great  world  their  stories 
of  life  in  other  lands  and  climes,  the  poor 
man  his  glimpses  into  the  higher  life  he 
hopes  his  children  may  enjoy,  the  sick 
woman  the  tale  which  temporarily  trans¬ 
ports  her  into  scenes  of  beauty  and  pleasure, 
of  which  she  becomes,  for  the  time,  apart — 
let  all  have  their  ungrudged  share  in  the 


INTERIOR  VIEW  LOOKING  INTO  READING  ROOM. 


to  furnish  all  the  new  novels  as  they  ap¬ 
pear,  and  they  will  be  sustained  in  their 
appeal  by  lists  industriously  furnished  of 
“the  best-selling  books  "  in  the  principal 
cities  of  the  English-reading  world. 

How  ought  this  state  of  things  to  be 
met? 

First,  the  public  library  should  recognize 
the  legitimate  use  of  fiction,  and  furnish, 
with  due  regard  to  its  total  means  for 
supply,  a  certain  proportion  of  the  best 
fiction,  old  and  new,  of  clean,  wholesome, 
exhilarating,  elevating  novels  and  roman¬ 
ces.  By  all  means  let  the  boy  have  his 


enlargement  and  idealization  of  life  which 
it  is  the  province  of  fiction  to  create. 

But,  secondly,  within  this  broad  and 
liberal  provision  there  should  be  always 
going  on  a  process  of  exclusion  and  limita¬ 
tion,  to  keep  out  some  books  because  they 
are  worthless  or  bad,  and  others  because 
they  would  be  in  excess.  Novel  writing 
has  come  to  be  a  regular  trade.  Circulat¬ 
ing  libraries  have  been  so  multiplied  that 
it  pays  to  write  and  publish  any  book 
which  all  of  them  will  take.  The  duty  of 
a  library  committee — which  is  largely  a 
duty  of  exclusion — of  sifting  from  the 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


23 


many  books  thrust  upon  them  the  few  that 
are  worthy  to  be  retained — is  a  serious  one 
and  should  not  be  entrusted  to  any  but 
those  who  will  give  time  and  thought  con¬ 
scientiously  to  its  discharge.  But  quite  as 
important  as  exclusion  to  prevent  the  en¬ 
trance  of  bad  fiction  is  exclusion  to  prevent 
the  excess  of  even  unobjectionable  fiction. 
No  one  will  dispute  the  position  that  in  an 
intelligent  reading,  thinking  Vermont  com¬ 
munity  the  main  duty  of  a  library  is  to  fur¬ 
nish  solid  reading,  and  by  that  I  mean  the 
best  books  in  poetry,  history,  travel,  biog¬ 
raphy,  essay,  art,  science,  politics,  relig¬ 
ion.  I  make  a  bold  statement,  to  which 
I  challenge  opposition.  Let  Randolph 
maintain  the  library  I  have  described,  con¬ 
sisting  of,  we  will  say,  one-fourth  good 
fiction  and  three-fourths  solid  reading, 
and  some  other  town  in  Vermont  reverse 
the  proportions,  in  fifty  years  there  would 
be  a  marked  difference  in  the  intellectual 
character  of  the  two  populations,  especially 
in  the  number  of  superior  men  and  women 
the  two  towns  would  produce.  First-class 
ability  has  been  produced  in  our  New 
England  communities  out  of  corn  meal 
and  codfish,  but  never  out  of  sensational 
novels.  I  know  no  finer  illustration  of  what 
a  small  library  of  good  books  can  accom¬ 
plish  than  that  afforded  by  your  neighboring 
town  of  Brookfield,  where  such  a  library 
has  been  maintained  for  over  one  hun¬ 
dred  years  and  has  borne  fruit  in  the  num¬ 
ber  of  able  men  natives  of  the  town  and  in 
the  high  order  of  intelligence  characteris¬ 
tic  of  its  citizens. 

But  it  will  be  said  by  some,  “A  public 
library  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  and 
the  people  will  not  read  solid  books;  they 
want  light  reading.”  I  have  a  better 
opinion  of  the  people,  and  especially  the 
Vermont  people — and  most  of  all  of  the 
people  in  a  Vermont  country  town.  I 
believe  that  the  proportion  of  readers  of 
the  best  books  will,  under  wise  manage¬ 
ment,  be  much  larger  in  Randolph  than 
in  St.  Albans,  or  Rutland  or  Burlington 
— and  in  Burlington  there  is  a  good  de¬ 
mand  among  the  people  for  serious  read¬ 


ing.  A  great  deal  will  depend  on  the 
attitude  and  action  of  three  classes  of 
people — the  teachers  in  the  schools,  the 
members  of  literary  and  other  clubs  and 
women  of  culture.  The  school  and  the 
library  are  natural  allies.  The  school  can 
increase  the  use  of  the  library  by  the  chil¬ 
dren  fourfold  through  wise  suggestion, 
and  can  greatly  enrich  its  own  teach¬ 
ing  in  almost  every  subject,  especially 
in  geography,  history  and  nature  study, 
by  encouraging  reading  at  home  on  the 
subjects  of  lessons  at  school.  We,  at  Bur¬ 
lington,  regard  this  as  one  of  the  most 
valuable  uses  of  our  library.  Books  used 
this  way  are  used  up  rather  rapidly,  but 
there  is  no  better  way  of  spending  money 
for  books  than  in  replacing  books  that  by 
good  usage  are  used  up.  If  clubs  for  dis¬ 
cussion  of  interesting  subjects  in  literature, 
art,  sociology,  do  not  already  exist  in  a 
community,  such  a  library  as  this  is  sure 
to  give  rise  to  them,  and  however  large  the 
collection  of  books  may  be  its  resources  for 
supplying  information  on  such  topics  will 
be  taxed  to  its  utmost.  No  library  in  Ver¬ 
mont  has  been  able  to  supply  the  books 
which  within  a  few  months  have  been  call¬ 
ed  for  on  Cuba,  the  Philippines,  Vene¬ 
zuela,  on  volcanoes,  coal  mining,  arbitra¬ 
tion,  trusts,  not  to  speak  of  the  old  topics 
which  clubs  take  up  in  literature,  art, 
travel,  science,  social  and  political  econ¬ 
omy.  Perhaps  it  is  a  compensation  to 
women  for  not  being  voters  that,  whereas 
men  get  the  larger  part  of  their  ideas  on 
questions  of  general  interest  from  conver¬ 
sation  or  talks,  women  get  theirs  from 
books,  which,  if  not  so  practically  efficient 
a  source,  is  at  least  a  higher  one.  At  any 
rate,  our  women  are  the  best  readers  of 
books  among  us.  They  set  the  standard 
of  reading  in  a  community  and  by  their 
patronage,  their  criticisms,  their  commen¬ 
dations,  determine  what  shall  be  read,  and 
even  quite  largely  what  shall  be  written. 

I  have  often  said  that  if  I  were  blind¬ 
folded  and  taken  before  an  audience  in  an 
unknown  town,  I  could  tell  from  the  be¬ 
havior  of  the  hearers  whether  or  not  they 


24 


KIMBALL  LIBRARY  BUILDING. 


had  the  advantage  of  good  schools  and 
libraries.  That  play  of  attack  and  response 
which  is'  always  going  on  between  speaker 
and  hearer  reveals  the  working  of  the 
hearer’s  mind,  as  well  as  that  of  the  speak¬ 
er’s.  This  is  one  way  of  bringing  out  the 
truth  that  there  is  a  general  grade  of  in¬ 
telligence  characteristic  of  a  community — 
and  differing  in  different  communities. 
One  community  wants  flashy,  sensational 
preaching,  takes  poor  newspapers,  patron¬ 
izes  cheap  theatricals,  will  turn  out  en 
masse  to  a  circus  within  twenty  miles  and 
will  let  a  good  lecturer  in  their  own  village 
course  talk  to  empty  seats.  Another  com¬ 
munity,  perhaps  in  the  next  town,  wants 
the  best,  and  knows  what  is  the  best 
in  all  these  respects  —  knows  argument 
from  claptrap,  sense  from  sensation,  good 
stocks  and  bonds  from  shares  in  a  cloud 
bank — a  community  which  sharpers  and 


peddlers  of  nostrums  and  book  agents  for 
poor  books  at  dear  prices  know  enough 
to  avoid.  And  there  is  no  more  efficient 
agency  for  making  such  a  community  in 
every  Vermont  town  than  a  good  public 
library — a  library  which,  with  the  help  of 
the  men  and  women  of  the  best  education 
and  influence,  the  teachers,  the  clergymen, 
the  lawyers  and  doctors,  the  women  of 
culture,  succeeds  in  circulating  among  the 
homes  of  the  community,  good  books, 
books  which  enlarge  knowledge,  stimulate 
thought,  awaken  ambition,  guide  judgment 
of  men  and  events,  nourish  patriotism, 
favor  morality  and  religion,  and  make  of 
the  entire  community  a  people  among 
whom  it  is  a  privilege  to  be  born  and  to 
live,  and  after  all  wanderings  in  other 
regions  and  climes,  to  come  back  to  with 
untraveled  hearts. 


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